Been running for almost a month on compiled myth.29 and most everything works. There are a couple of places I lose keyboard focus (but fortunately only on a few setup type screens), and, not all plugins work perfectly or do I have the ability to test:

MythArchive - Nothing to test with
MythBrowser - does not work with internal browser, works with external browser such as FF
MythMusic - Seems to work except for visualizations
MythNetvision - Works with external browser
MythNews - Works
MythWeather - Works
MythZoneminder - no way to test

So, backend and frontend seem to work. Will be able to distribute the pre-compiled apps along with some scripts, installer if desired, etc. Schedule import, meta lookups, jobs, etc all seem to work well.

But, am headed out to Palm Springs for a few weeks, then I am back 2 weeks but then off to Branson. Perhaps in between I can get the details, doc, etc ironed out.

@pvrme - Thanks for the reply Craig, and sorry for not acknowledging it sooner! I quite understand the problem of real life getting in the way here - just thankful for the work you've put into the project so far!

@sfatula - I see that you've got a working v29 through your own build process. Is there any chance you might be able to share this somewhere (even if it's not final)?

I'm just migrating from a Linux machine running v29 back to a Mac, and I think the database won't downgrade back to v28 - hence asking about v29.

Side notes that might be of interest to someone:

I had been hanging on to save up and get a second-hand Mac Mini which would be capable of running OS X 10.8+ - but I recently found that second-hand 2008 Mac Pros can be picked up for a fraction of the price of the Mac Mini. With special tools, they can be updated to macOS 10.13 (though I'm going to stick with 10.12);

I'm migrating back off Linux because Kodi (which I use as a front-end to Myth) keeps crashing on it. So many glitches - including regular HDD corruption on my HFS+ drives - have made me fed up with that experiment, so I'm definitely jumping back into macOS as soon as I can!

There are 2 versions of what I created and then moved on since there was no interest. I have since used an Ubuntu machine for the backend. So, I no longer have an OSX backend.

The first earlier version I had sent to someone on this forum, I believe there is a public post somewhere from him, don't remember who. That one did build, and was mostly standard build process with a number of fixes.

The second one I had modified much more heavily, fixed numerous issues with previous builds going years back such as the inability to run perl and python from those builds, updated for later QT, etc. That was in process, but was working, but it also required new ways of using it since the end goal was to create a Mac installer.

Please PM me your request and include an email address. I don't have time to mess with it right now, but I'll keep you in mind. I just got back from a very long trip to Spain and the Canary Islands and have a lot of stuff to catch up on, bills, etc. Meanwhile, I have one last consulting job to do for a company that will take a month and then 100% retired.

There were tons of time and experiments needed to get versions, environment variables, etc right for the backend. And you say back end only, but, some back end things use python too. And then you have the processes that use the backend, etc.

The backend should just compile without much mucking around using my scripts. The frontend had the largest changes. Send me your email. I only tested on 10.13, it should run on 10.12, was at the time just getting a 10.12 machine up.

It's really sad to see OSX being ignored for the most part. I offered to help with the project more than once, never got a single response.

There were tons of time and experiments needed to get versions, environment variables, etc right for the backend. And you say back end only, but, some back end things use python too. And then you have the processes that use the backend, etc.

Yes - I'm finding that now, having started digging into building it. I hadn't realised how out-of-date the 'current' build script was...

It's really sad to see OSX being ignored for the most part. I offered to help with the project more than once, never got a single response.

That is sad indeed. I tried moving from OSX to Linux for a while on my MythTV/Kodi box - and I was amazed at how much I missed running on OSX. The simplest things seemed to become so much more difficult - just being able to QuickLook a video can save sooooo much time whilst adding new content.

Yes, what I was wanting to propose was to make a simple installer, for backend only, frontend only, or, both. Put it back in the app store as it used to be, if that was possible, else, just an installer to be downloaded from mythtv. So, the simplest possible install as I felt that would increase adoption of mythtv esp. on Mac OSX. Also, if in the app store, provide free publicity.

Put it back in the app store as it used to be, if that was possible, else, just an installer to be downloaded from mythtv. So, the simplest possible install as I felt that would increase adoption of mythtv esp. on Mac OSX. Also, if in the app store, provide free publicity.

Whilst I'd be in favour of seeing MythTV in the Mac App Store, I don't know how feasible that would be - there are all sorts of sandboxing and entitlement restrictions that would have to be baked in, and that might be challenging to accommodate.

However, a stand-alone installer / single application target would certainly significantly lower the barrier to entry.

It used to be in the app store, not sure why it was removed, you could be right, I was willing at the time to go through it all if it was possible. I don't use OSX any more for the backend or frontend anymore though, so, moot point. I wish someone would do that though. The current setups are too technical for the average joe.

I had hoped that sfatula might help with the process of building an installer (really, the work is in testing, tweaking and testing again...rinse and repeat) but he chose to go another way. Last year, I did some preliminary work and ran into usability bugs. sfatula did not seem to have the same problems. I suspect that the version of Qt I was using at that point was contributing to the issues. It takes considerable time to set up a test system and build multiple versions of Myth to isolate the source of such issues. Certainly Qt has been updated multiple times since then.

With family stuff, I haven't had the time to work on a version 29 installer. And my interest level isn't as high as it was 2, 5 or 7 years ago.

The dvr system produced by Silicondust is getting pretty attractive. Supports multiple platforms for both the backend and frontends. Quite affordable. Considering the needs and aptitude of the prototypical Mac user, I would have a tough time recommending Myth.

Yes, there is such an installer, but it does not behave like a regular app, does not install in normal OSX directories, doesn't work with all the plugins, etc. But it is a lot better than it used to be, since no more terminal commands, good job there. My understanding is it's subject to the same ol Macports problems. Could be wrong on that. It is likely it could never be in the app store due to using GPL v2 (may have thought I saw it there in the past, could well be wrong), however, vlc (for ios, should be same idea as Mac app store) found a solution to that with mplv2. Whether or not that would be possible for mythtv, who knows. I will agree to disagree on the current installer issues as such a discussion will be pointless.

But Craig is exactly right, the work is in tons and tons of testing with versions, etc. But he does point out the other issue, he simply doesn't have time. That's why someone *on the team* is needed, possibly more than one someone. And that was the whole point. Of course, someone on the team doesn't by itself magically produce time. However, once it is an official direction to support macos, it could change. Whether or not that would ever happen, who knows. Right now, it's an afterthought at best. And that by itself is enough to turn me away from the Mac version. But I did want to try. I have moved on to other projects and will use the better supported Linux version.

Yes, there is such an installer, but it does not behave like a regular app, does not install in normal OSX directories, doesn't work with all the plugins, etc. But it is a lot better than it used to be, since no more terminal commands, good job there. My understanding is it's subject to the same ol Macports problems. Could be wrong on that. It is likely it could never be in the app store due to using GPL v2 (may have thought I saw it there in the past, could well be wrong), however, vlc (for ios, should be same idea as Mac app store) found a solution to that with mplv2. Whether or not that would be possible for mythtv, who knows. I will agree to disagree on the current installer issues as such a discussion will be pointless.

But Craig is exactly right, the work is in tons and tons of testing with versions, etc. But he does point out the other issue, he simply doesn't have time. That's why someone *on the team* is needed, possibly more than one someone. And that was the whole point. Of course, someone on the team doesn't by itself magically produce time. However, once it is an official direction to support macos, it could change. Whether or not that would ever happen, who knows. Right now, it's an afterthought at best. And that by itself is enough to turn me away from the Mac version. But I did want to try. I have moved on to other projects and will use the better supported Linux version.

What are these "same ol Macports problems"? I know you've complained about updates to supporting components "causing problems" but I think you've far overblown that issue. In my 6+ years of experience with MacPorts that is exceedingly rare. As I've said to you before, having others monitoring and fixing issues with the 200+ MythTV dependencies far outweighs the rare issue where a version upgrade creates a problem.

"once it is an official direction to support macos" -- but it is and has been for 12+ years. Myth uses Qt BECAUSE it is supports cross-platform development. The lack of a Mac-focused developer is NOT because the project doesn't want them--it is because no-one with the needed skill set has stepped forward. If such a person did come forward, they would be welcomed. Such a person needs significant C++ development experience on macOS and either heavy-duty Qt and/or ffmpeg and/or multimedia experience or the willingness to invest a lot of time learning such things. Other projects seem to have sucked up all such talent. Do you have any concrete proposals for changing the situation?